Episode IV: Betrayed in the Heart?
There was a knock at the door. Lark jumped.
"Lark? Are you in there?" Robert said. "You left your clothes out here." Lark tried to remember what happened last night, but he just couldn't. He opened the door just a sliver and stuck his arm out, grabbing what felt like his clothes from Robert's arms.
Minutes passed and Lark exited the bathroom, dressed. His eyes were wide.
"What's wrong, Lark?" Robert asked, smiling seductively; he just had his pants and mask on.
"I-I don't remember… What happened last night?" Lark asked, sounding lost. Tora turned his back to the pair, putting his vest on.
"You don't remember? Oh, Lark, that hurts…" Robert said, wrapping his arms around his neck; Lark flinched.
"What happened?!" Lark asked, raising his voice. Robert let out a sigh.
"You told me that you love me… and then we made love." Robert leaned in.
"N-no! I love Harry! That would never happen! I would never!" Lark pulled away, looking upset.
"Oh, but it did, Lark. After the second bar, we went out to eat—all of us had steak—and you sobered up. Then, in this hotel room, you told me you loved me, and after that—"
"But… I don't even like steak…" Lark said, sounding confused.
"You were hungry. You copied our order," Robert replied.
"O-oh…" Lark said. Tora stayed quiet.
"I even showed you my secret…" Robert said, slowly removing his mask. Lark gasped. On Robert's forehead was a bar code with numbers under it. "That I'm an 'eternal boy.' Completely metal under this skin…"
"Why do you have a bar code on your head?" Lark asked. Tora walked past them and went into the bathroom to brush his sharp teeth.
"Because I was to be sold."
"'Sold?'"
"Into the android-sex-trade," Robert answered, approaching Lark again. "I was so scared last night… but you made me feel special…" Lark continued to panic.
"N-no… This… I wouldn't have…" Lark said, squeezing his eyes shut. "Harry, wake me up. Please…"
"Lark… You're hurting me…" Robert said, looking upset. Lark looked at him and suddenly clung to him.
"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" Lark said, beginning to cry. Robert gently rubbed the back of his head.
"Lark… I wanted to tell you… Even though I've just met you, I've… fallen for you…" Robert admitted.
"I… But I love Harry… Is this… okay?" Lark said, honestly not knowing how to feel.
"Forget about Harry. Let's be happy together," Robert said. Lark buried his face into his chest, crying. Tora returned to the room, sheathing his sword. He then approached the two of them and from behind, left a kiss on Lark's ear. Lark blushed lightly. Robert and Tora locked eyes, Tora glaring at him. Robert smiled back…
"Are you… really going to take me to Starfish Labs?" Lark asked, walking by Robert's side. Robert took his hand.
"Maybe I won't," Robert said. Suddenly, Tora got mad.
"Captain, what about all of the money we were promised?!" Tora shouted. "You're just going to throw all of that down the drain?!"
"You live an extravagant life. Can't you wait until our next job?" Robert said, smiling.
"You're being—ugh!" Tora stormed off into the ship, Dogu greeting him.
"What has happened, dogu?" Dogu asked.
"Our paycheck just 'bounced,'" Tora said. Dogu's head spun.
"What?!" Dogu cried.
"Captain has a 'thing' for him."
"What do you mean, dogu?"
"I mean, sure, he's cute. Sure, I'd like to do him—sleeping next to him was great—but now Captain is all—" Tora immediately shut up once he saw Robert and Lark coming aboard. Robert had his arm around Lark's waist. Tora turned away and headed further into the ship.
"Is it true, dogu? No money, dogu?" Dogu asked Robert.
"Immediately input the coordinates I gave you. We need to leave Shar," Robert said. Dogu turned his head and then walked away. Robert then turned to Lark.
"Want to steer the ship once we take off?" Robert said, smiling. Lark nodded.
…Robert was in his private quarters, communicating with Dr. Newquist.
"Is he in a healthy state of mind?" Dr. Newquist asked.
"Oh, at first he was in total shock, but now he seems to have calmed down quite a bit. He said he loved someone, but he's already become very clingy. I think he trusts me," Robert replied.
"An innocent mind is perfect for Stockholm Syndrome. How long are you going to be now? I'm waiting," Dr. Newquist said.
"I am sure that, by now, his friends are on their way to Shar, so I would like to throw them off course and go to—"
"The Heifong System? The water planet, correct?"
"Yes."
"You know that it's in the complete opposite direction to Rynex. If you want to sail, go to a Rynexian ocean."
"You're no fun," Robert said, laughing.
"Any time I have granted you, use it to get him to trust you more."
"You say this as if I am dawdling." Robert glared. "I'm working."
"Mm… You are correct. You are perfectly on time. So, I suppose, carry on," Dr. Newquist said, ending the communication.
"'Carry on,'" Robert mocked him.
…Soon, the ship took off and Lark was steering the ship. The coordinates were hidden from him. Robert was standing behind him, guiding him.
"Just like this…" Robert whispered in his ear. Lark blushed.
…Harry had a nightmare. They had landed on Shar and everyone was asleep. All of the lights in the ship turned on.
"EVERYONE WAKE UP!" Harry cried. Ron snorted when he woke up, sitting up between a naked Aisha and Pansa-Pansa in bed.
"What Harry?" Ron said in an annoyed voice.
"What is going on?!" Harry cried.
"We're in Daser City. The news reported that ship—The Royal Fortune—landed here."
"Alright! Well, let's go!" Harry said, the navigation tube sinking into the ship. Ron got out of bed and got dressed, the two Ctarl-Ctarl ladies doing the same.
When Ron saw that Harry was holding his stomach, walking towards the exit, he ran over to him.
"Nuh-uh, Harry! You're staying here! You can't walk around like that!"
"Fuck off, Ron," Harry replied.
"Harry, I—" Suddenly, Ron was interrupted by a punch in the jaw. Harry had hit him with his working arm. Ron stumbled back a bit, holding his jaw. Ron then glared at him. "Harry…" He growled. Aisha and Pansa-Pansa had arrived to see the scene.
"I'm going," Harry said in a flat tone.
"Fine," Ron replied.
"Umm! I'll go with Harry!" Aisha said, following him. Pansa-Pansa walked up to Ron.
"Are you okay?" Pansa-Pansa asked.
"Yeah. It's just this is the first time he's hit me since he was the 'old' Harry," Ron answered.
…For a while, Aisha was silent, just looking around.
"So this is Daser City, huh? Pirates are practically crawling out of the cracks here," she said. Harry did not reply. Aisha felt awkward. "So, um, Harry, um… What kind of place do you think this pirate would have taken Lark?"
"I don't know," Harry said.
"Well, that makes things harder." Aisha sighed. Suddenly, Harry stopped in his tracks; Aisha kept on walking until she noticed this and jogged back over. "What is it?"
"I need to go somewhere that connects to Shar's network. I'll try to locate the last place Black Bart used currency," Harry said.
"You can do that?! Wow! That's scary! Remind me not to get on your bad side! Then again, I still probably could kick your butt if it was one-on-one!" Aisha said. She looked around and spotted a café.
"Let's go there!" she said, pointing to the café. "It's free!"
"Good," Harry said, walking towards it. Aisha raced ahead, holding the door open. She was smiling. Harry didn't even make eye contact with her. Once he was past her, she frowned.
…Harry had all of his fingertips open, wires inserted in multiple ports on a couple of computers. His eyes were shut. Aisha remained silent, drinking a dark Sharnese soda from a straw. After twenty minutes, Harry spoke.
"John Roberts. Recent transactions: Sharnese Bull Steakhouse. Date: Yesterday. Time: 11:21 PM. Last Gulch Hotel. Date: Today. Time: 7:11 AM. Daser City Launching Pad. Date: Today. Time: 9:19 AM…" Suddenly, all of the wires retracted into his fingers and he stood up. "They left the planet!"
"Great…" Aisha said, sighing. Harry got up and headed back to the ship, Aisha following him.
Ron and Pansa-Pansa were walking together when they saw Harry and Aisha run past them.
"Hey, Harry! Where are ya goin'?!" Ron said, turning around.
"He must be onto something!" Pansa-Pansa said, following Ron.
All of them met in the ship, Harry immediately getting inside the navigation tube. He was rushing, so pain rippled through his body like water. He let out cries of pain under the glass.
"They left the planet! They left the planet!" Harry yelled.
"How do you know?" Pansa-Pansa asked.
"Harry did all kinds of computer-stuff and was able to find out that they launched just an hour ago! We have to catch 'em!" Aisha cried, strapping herself in. Pansa-Pansa and Ron did the same, heading to the launching site.
Harry launched the ship like some god had thrown it out of Shar's orbit. He immediately began hacking into the Interstellar Police reports.
"The Royal Fortune entered Rynex's orbit, landing on Tortuga Isle…" Harry said.
"If they know where these damn pirates are all of the time, why don't they just shoot them out of the sky?" Aisha said.
"I think it's more complicated than that. Maybe Black Bart's ship has been given a license of some kind by a planetary government…" Ron said.
"Who would support pirates?!" Aisha cried.
"Well, my father told me a little about Earth's pirate history. There were such things as 'privateers,' which were 'legal' pirates protected underneath their crown to attack enemy nation's ships," Ron continued.
"What?! That doesn't make sense!" Aisha said.
"It happened," Ron said, shrugging.
"I did a little research about Tortuga Isle… It's a small island in a larger network of islands in the Great Rynex sea on the equator of the planet. It's a tourist attraction." Harry stated, speeding the ship up.
"Why would they go there?" Pansa-Pansa asked.
"Let's see… It's known for its rum and… honeymoon vacations?!" Harry shouted. Some of the Aurum's lights blew.
"Harry…" Ron said with a sigh.
"I know! I'm sorry!" Harry cried. Pansa-Pansa began replacing bulbs right away.
"Well, Rynex isn't too far. We'll be there soon enough. Just don't overwhelm the engines. I wish we had Harper right now, keepin' an eye on things…" Ron said, checking the temperature of the ship.
…Wind was blowing through Lark's hair. He stood by Robert's side. Robert's ship had transformed into one that could cross water! They were sailing around in a cove.
"This is the kind of life I want, Lark…" Robert said. Though Tora and Dogu weren't exactly happy with Robert, they still enjoyed the ocean breeze.
"Harry has never taken me to places like this… I hope he does someday…" Lark said, smiling. Robert walked over to face him and cupped his face in his hands.
"Enjoy the moment, Lark. Close your eyes and listen to the waves hit the ship…" Robert said. Lark did what he said and closed his eyes. Robert smiled at this. He then leaned in, as if he was about to kiss him, but suddenly pulled away. Tora saw this and rolled his eyes. Robert walked across the deck, back over to the steering wheel. Tora approached him.
"Why didn't you do it, huh?" Tora asked.
"I didn't know if it would help…" Robert said back.
"I'm not a psychologist or anything, but I think you should have gone for it."
"The ocean is enough."
"Stop being such a romantic," Tora scoffed. Just then, Tora saw Lark approaching them. He flashed him a smile and walked to the other side of the deck where Dogu was.
"I think I understand now—how you love the ocean…" Lark said sweetly. Robert smiled at him.
"I feel like I might have had a past life claimed by the ocean… But once the sea calls to you—" Robert was interrupted—Lark stood on his toes and kissed him. Robert was shocked, eyes open wide. He then closed his eyes and wrapped an arm around Lark's waist, one arm still on the steering wheel. Lark broke the kiss.
"But I don't understand myself…" Lark said. Robert turned his attention back to steering the ship.
"You don't always have to. Right now, I don't understand myself either…"
…The sun set and there was a bit of a party on the ship. One of Robert's men played the fiddle, while another played a flute. Everyone clapped their hands, stomped their feet, danced, and sang along. Tora was the song's "storyteller." Lark was sitting down on the deck; his eyes were lit up with color. Robert was drinking by his side. The night was magical.
When it began to grow quieter, Lark stepped into the circle of pirates and began singing. The fiddler and flutist began to play along with his voice.
"The golden sun… shining through the trees—a summer's soft sigh… peace enveloping me…
Summer my love, please never end… I beg you and I cry… Please stay evergreen…" Lark suddenly froze. "HARRY!" Lark screamed. Everyone looked confused. Robert stood up suddenly. Lark ran towards the bow of the ship, hoping to jump off when he suddenly received a painful shock of electricity, causing him to instantly pass out. Robert walked up to him and picked him up.
"This was not how I wanted our evening to end… but I suppose it had to end…" Robert said, gazing at him. "Anchor the ship! We will fly to Rynex's capital tomorrow!" Robert commanded. Everyone answered him with a "sir" and got busy…
The next day, The Royal Fortune was in Rynex City. Lark was still unconscious, laying in Robert's bed.
"So you are going to go through with it after all?" Tora said below deck. Robert didn't answer him. "What? What's on your mind?"
"I damaged him," Robert said.
"No. You stabilized his mood. So what if he had a little freak-out last night? Otherwise, he seems completely enamored with you. He's happy now."
"You're right. Dr. Newquist will be pleased with the results," Robert said, walking past him. Suddenly, Tora grabbed Robert by the arm.
"You damaged me, too," Tora said, his eyes falling.
"I know," Robert said. Tora let him go and Robert went back to his quarters. He took off his mask and laid down next to Lark, watching him.
Suddenly, Dogu burst into the room.
"Captain! Dogu! Men being attacked!" Dogu cried. Robert stood up and followed Dogu outside…